At present, there are in excess of sixteen million vending machines in use in this country, dispensing various types of products, including food, drink, and the like when money is placed in the machine and a selection is made. Older machines require coins. Some newer machines operate with either coins or bills.
While conventional money operated vending machines have proven satisfactory, they have certain limitations. For instance, there are pilferage problems, problems in detecting counterfeit coins, etc. Also, there is the problem of purchasers having to have cash available to make a purchase, and occasionally, even exact change.
In an increasingly credit card oriented society, a vending machine capable of being operated with either money or coded cards is desirable, and apparatus which enables existing vending machines to be retrofitted for such purposes is highly desirable.